The workshop on political advocacy organized by ECSA aimed at stressing political advocacy opportunities for injury prevention and safety promotion in Europe.

There were presentations from the WHO and the European Commission that provided a ground on which to discuss these opportunities, at the national level as well.

Then Elizabeth Lumsden (RoSPA Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) and Celia Gardiner (NHS National Health Scotland) explained how they capitalized on these opportunities in Scotland by having the ECSA’s Child Safety Action Plan project endorsing the Scottish national action plan for child safety.

Christian Farra-Hockley, one of EEN’s policy officers did a presentation on how to work with decision makers. Tips and suggestions on work at the political level concluded the workshop.

The same day, ECSA set up an MEP hearing on Child Safety in Brussels, hosted by Philip Whitehead, Chair of the Committee on Internal Market and Consumers.

”Injuries are the number one cause of death for children in every Member State in Europe.” (ECSA’s website)
Starting from this simple assessment, the European Child Safety Alliance organized an MEP hearing discussing three possible technology changes that would reduce this burden. The technology changes were:
Safer front car design
Safer cigarette manufacturing and child-resistance lighters
Control of second-hand child products

Joanne Vincenten (president of ECSA) started by presenting the impacts and burden of child injury in the EU. Then, Frazer Goodwin (European Transport Safety Council) presented the issue of pedestrian protection, followed by Ann McNeill (European Respiratory Society) on lighters and cigarettes and Helena Menezes, (APSI Portugal Association for Child Safety and Injury Control) on second hand products.

ECSA also published two press releases that you can download hereunder.